Thursday, 17 August 2017

Brendan Matthews is happy training racehorses for a living. He thinks he’s hit the jackpot when a wealthy orthopedic surgeon, Adam Ahmadi, sends six yearlings his way. Not only are the horses a cut above the rest, their owner isn’t too shabby either.

But not everything is as it seems. Adam has many secrets, most of them dark and deadly. When Adam’s past returns with a vengeance, he disappears, leaving Brendan confused and hurt.

If Adam survives, will his past destroy their future?

Review:

This was a wonderfully written story that propelled me into the world of horse racing and the work that goes into getting a horse ready for the track.

The romance was smooth and sweet and the suspense had you asking questions about Adam's past, and giving you a satisfying pay off at the end.

Tuesday, 15 August 2017

I am working on a new story called The Collector, hopefully available around Halloween.

There is no cover yet, so I'm borrowing Mr Somerhalder, 'cause he's really pretty and, yes, there are vampires in the story. Here is a little snippet to tease the literary tastebuds. I hope you like it 😀

PROLOGUE

The mist was low on the
ground, the moon high above him casting pools of light through the clouds as
they chased each other across its surface. Walker stared up at it, enjoying its
soft light from where he perched on the edge of the inappropriately large, in
his opinion, ornate stone monument.

Who in the hell needed a
headstone the size of a small house? What difference did it make? You were
gonna be taking a dirt nap under the damn thing, not taking selfies with it!
Prestige. Status. Those were the two words that tap-danced across his mind. He
shook his head. What did prestige or status matter when you were dead? It might
be a kiss my ass to some of your relatives whose share of the will you spent on
it but, in twenty, thirty years, they’d all be dead, too! Then who’d give a
crap?

He turned to look at the
name carved into the black marble. The gold lettering gave off an iridescent
glow in the light from his pocket torch. Gerald
Higginbottom. Taken from us too soon. Walker checked the dates and gazed
heavenward. Too Soon? Couldn’t they think of a better platitude? He was
ninety-three for God’s sake!

Walker yawned widely as
he turned off the torch and shoved it back into his jacket. He stretched his
arms high above his head and winced as his muscles creaked in complain at the
dampness of the air. Maybe he was getting too old for this shit. He blew on his
hands to warm them, then scoffed at the ridiculousness of it all. Here he was,
at his age, spending another night in another cemetery sitting next to another
pile of dirt. Speaking of which…

The earth on the fresh
grave beside the monument he’d chosen as his ring side seat, began to move.
Only a little, but enough for the trained eye to see, even in this light.

“Come on,” Walker mumbled
impatiently. This was his third and, thankfully, last one of the night and he
wanted to go home. He had three episodes of Game
of Thrones and a bottle of A+ waiting for him.

The mound of earth grew
slowly, then finally collapsed in on itself as a pale hand pushed through the
dirt and into the cold night air. Walker watched, a half-smile curving his
lips. He loved this part and always had to tamp down the urge to help, but it
was forbidden. It was better in the long run if they did it themselves. Bit like
a chick emerging from the egg, it was all part of the process. He was simply
there to guide them when their rebirth was over. His smile widened as the
grave’s occupant emerged from the ground in a tumble of wreathes and posies
that had been laid atop of it. She stood up, wild-eyed and afraid as she looked
down at herself, bare feet pressing into the dirt. She lifted her hands, stared
at her ruined fingernails and said the same two words everyone else said on
realising what had happened.

“Oh fuck.”

“Indeed,” Walker replied,
holding up his hands in surrender as she spun around to glare at him, her teeth
bared, fangs glinting in the moonlight. “Whoa there, sweetheart. You can put
those away. I mean you no harm.”

“What’s going on?” she ground
out. Fear making her more dangerous than even she could imagine. “Where am I?”

“Two excellent
questions,” Walker soothed. “I’m going to take you to someone who can answer
them, and everything else you need to know. Come,” he held out his hand, “you must
be hungry.”

“Who are you?” She
hesitated only a moment before she took it and stepped off what should have
been her final resting place.

Monday, 14 August 2017

What attracts you to a book first? What is it that makes you stop and think, "Ooh, that looks good." I'm always fascinated by this question, because the answers can be so diverse.

Is it the author themselves?

Is it the title?

How about the cover?

What about the blurb?

Or do you ignore all of those and wait for the reviews?

For me, its a mixture of all of the above. There are authors who I would read their shopping lists if they released them. Sometimes a title leaps out at me. One that always sticks in my head is "Dude, Did You Just Bite Me?" And of course the cover is often what draws you in first. But, even though the cover draws me in, it doesn't always make me get my purse out. The blurb has to be one of, if not, the most important part for me. If my spidey senses aren't tingling when I read those few lines, it doesn't matter to me how great the cover is.

Sunday, 13 August 2017

On our five hour car journey home from Yorkshire today, the hubby put on Abba's greatest hits, so it was only appropriate that today's Step Back in Time should be an Abba song. This is one of my favourites!

Thursday, 10 August 2017

Sue Perkins is a British comedian and television presenter. Some of you may know her from The Great British Bake Off.

I adore Sue. She's down to earth, doesn't mess about and is, of course, hilarious.

I've always been attracted to humour before anything else, in men or women. Humour and intelligence, which our Sue has in spades. And when I say spades, I mean great big shovelfuls of the talent!

2nd on my list is the fantastically uber-talented Melissa McCarthy.

Again, the funny bone gets hit every time, she's beautiful and there's a very savvy mind behind those big green eyes. I think she's hugely underrated as a movie actress, but I think the right vehicle for her is just around the corner. And that will just fire her out into the tratasphere. Absolutely love her.

If, however, if I was forced to make a choice based upon beauty alone...

how could there be any other choice but one of the most beautiful women of all time?

Wednesday, 9 August 2017

I've been a bit lax in the reading department of late. Something to do with my glamorous assistant having stolen my Kindle for her own use after she dropped her tablet! I will confess that I purchased the book I'm about to review a little while ago and, although I'd read the first few pages, I only picked it up again yesterday when my Kindle was returned! Deep joy! So, here we go....

BLURB:Borrowed from the Secret Intelligence Service cipher department to assist Briers Allerdale - a field agent returning to 1920s London with news of a dangerous anarchist plot - Miles Siward moves into a 'couples only' boarding house, posing as Allerdale’s 'wife'. Miles relishes the opportunity to allow his alter ego, Millie, to spread her wings but if Miles wants the other agent’s respect he can never betray how much he enjoys being Millie nor how attractive he finds Allerdale.

Pursuing a ruthless enemy who wants to throw Europe back into the horrors of the Great War, Briers and Miles are helped and hindered by nosy landladies, water board officials, suave gentlemen representing foreign powers and their own increasing attraction to each other.

Will they catch their quarry? Will they find love? Could they hope for both?

The clock is ticking.REVIEW:I don't usually do historicals, but loved the premise of this and am a fan of Elin's anyway so thought I'd give it a go.I was gripped from the first few pages. The world building was exquisite. It was like being inside an Agatha Christie mystery! Briers and Siward were beautifully drawn and the plot believable. Even the secondary characters were marvellous, all interwoven in the story, and some playing bigger parts than others. I think I even shouted out a couple of times, which wasn't good 'cause I was in bed and it was after midnight! I loved every word and couldn't put it down. Bravo Ms Gregory, bravo! Could we dare to hope that we'll hear more from our two boys?Highly recommended read.BUY LINK:Amazon.comAmazon.co.uk

Tuesday, 8 August 2017

He'd just finished reading the last few chapters of To Kill A Mockingbird, homework given by his English teacher. He was blown away by it (as was I when I read it at not much older than him) and declared it was his favourite to date. So what was mine?

Now that got me thinking...

I'd like to be high brow and say something like Great Expectations, or Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, somewhere in that ilk, but I'm not entirely sure I'd be telling the truth.

Not that I don't adore all three of the aforementioned titles, along with Little Women, Gone With the Wind, North and South, winners all.

Although I must confess I'm not a fan of Shakespeare.

I also grew up on my friend's mum's Mills & Boon cast offs.

I remember coming back from her house with my carrier bag full of goodies and spiriting myself away in the bedroom until I'd read the lot - sometimes twice!

Leopard in the Snow by Anne Mather was one of my favourites, I loved her!

But there is one book I go to every single time I need my fix.... IT by Stephen King.

I am a bit of a Stephen King freak anyway, but this is the one. The first time I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. On more than one occasion missing my stop on the way home from work so I could just squeeze in a few more pages.

He builds such worlds, such amazing worlds, that'll scare the pants off you one minute and have you laughing out loud the next. Then leave you a sobbing heap on the floor clutching the book and begging him to take back those last few words. 'Cause he doesn't pull any punches. He doesn't always give you the happy ever after you're looking for. And sometimes it doesn't matter, because he stayed true to the story and the characters you've come to love. Even if a few of those you loved most are left behind. I love this book. In fact.... I think I'm due a hit....

So, what's your favourite? Genre doesn't matter. What's the book you reach for when nothing else will do?

Tell me in the comments and make sure you leave your email, because there might be a little goodie bag in it for two lucky commenters. 😎